The new convention, which is being dubbed PAX South, will take place in Antonio Texas and will be held next year from January 23 to the 25th. According to Penny Arcade president Robert Khoo, the new convention is being launched to help meet the needs of gamers located in the southern part of the United States.

“Since its launch in 2004, PAX events have doubled in size almost every year, and our Seattle and Boston events represent the two largest gaming festivals in North America,” said Khoo in a press release. “We’ve been hearing for years that those in the south had a tough time making it to the northern corners of the country; PAX South has always been a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’”

PAX South will join PAX Prime, PAX East and PAX Australia as the fourth iteration of the popular expo which regularly plays host to music, cosplay and, of course, developers eager to showcase their gaming projects.

The Penny Arcade Expo is expanding its reach to Australia, hitting the land down under in 2013 and 2014 in the city of Melbourne, with the support of the Victorian government.

The government will help promote PAX in Melbourne via sponsorship and integration through a number of their gaming culture exhibitions and presentations.

Why is the government helping? Victorian Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher said:

“The decision to choose Melbourne to hold PAX Australia represents a fantastic opportunity to highlight Victoria’s creative capabilities on a global scale. This is a great opportunity to showcase the gaming culture in Australia to the rest of the world, while promoting the talented game developers and creative studios to an international audience.”

According to organizers, PAX Australia will combine an international program with local content and community events, including international guests, speakers, musicians, developers, and Australian industry representatives.

Next year’s PAX Australia will be held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 19-21 July.

Enthusiasts of On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 should know that we’re getting close to finalizing the first free DLC package, “The Lair Of The Seamstress,” which we’re hoping will come out soon. We don’t know when, exactly, but apparently there’s some kind of big convention or something next month; maybe we’ll try and put it out then. Zeboyd is coming up tomorrow to work on Rain-Slick 4 and the last DLC (also free) for the current one that details the fate of the player character from the first two games.

Game Front will be at PAX of course. No doubt you’ll have a chance to play the new DLC before we do, but on the off chance the DLC is only revealed, not launched, we’ll do our best to get some hands-on.

Valve has announced that this year’s Dota 2 International Championships will take place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at PAX Prime in Seattle, Wash., where the game’s top 16 teams will duke it out for $1 million.

Four teams are already on the Dota 2 roster: last year’s defending champs, the Ukrainian team Na’Vi; China’s DK; Australia’s aL; and Orange, of Malaysia. There are 16 slots in total that will be filled before the even.

Valve hasn’t released how to get tickets to attend the championship just yet, but it might help if you’re going to PAX Prime this year. Meantime, check out archival footage from last year’s tournament in Germany right here.

Zombie Studios attempt to blend an FPS game with a mech combat game is looking better and better. Check out these screenshots that showcase the incredible look of the Blacklight Retribution world. And if you haven’t seen it yet, make sure to check out the

Red 5 Studios has released a new trailer for their upcoming F2P shooter Firefall. This trailer gives you a glimpse into the mind of one of “the Chosen.” A humanoid race that has been warped by cosmic forces, “the Chosen” will serve as the main antagonists of Firefall.

Other enemies include legions of giant insectoids that bring to mind scenes from the movie Starship Troopers. With hundreds of players able to join in the persistent open world, Firefall is certainly an ambitious project. You can check out my hands-on preview here.